Thursday, February 3, 2005

Johnny Rocket’s (Cincinnati Mills)

This theme restaurant tries to capture that 50’s hamburger joint vibe and does so with moderately good results. After a small wait to get in, we were seated inside. The menu isn’t what you’d call extensive, but for a place like this does it really need to be? There are miniature jukeboxes at every table, and for 5 cents you can play a song… I went with “Mrs. Robinson” by Paul Simon. The ordering process was rather uncomplicated, and while waiting for our food I looked around and took a couple snapshots.

Now, let’s talk about the food. Our onion rings were served with ranch sauce, which seemed like an unusual choice, but the end result was one of the tastiest parts of the meal. These things are good, but once they get colder they’ll taste greasier and that’s to be avoided at all costs. My fries came with a smiley face made in ketchup, thanks to our waitress whose parents probably weren’t even alive in the famed 50’s. My entrée? A burger, of course! Although not my first choice, for some odd reason I was enticed to order the “St. Louis” which is what I got. This specialty burger is no joke; it’s good, and the bacon is a highlight, yet there’s a rather tasteless orange sauce slathered on for good measure. The drinks were sup par; too little ice for such a big glass, they get flat a lot quicker.

My impressions overall are as follows… I had a pretty good time. We were there during lunch, so it was understandably busy, but I’d like to see what’s it like during a slow period. Our waitress wasn’t doing a real good job, but granted it seemed like all the employers were swamped and rushed. I like theme restaurants; it’s a nice change of pace, and this one works pretty well. As far as American eating goes, the quality of the food here is definitely worth a little cash. I’d recommend coming in high spirits, too, because this place usually tends to be hopping.